Posting sketches from work-in-progress?

[smasover]

Hi Nathan,

I'm toying with the idea of posting fiction-in-progress on my blog -- specifically, short sketches that I write in the course of developing my current, nascent novel project. I'd pick and choose bits I thought would stand up as something approaching short-short fiction. Some of these might end up in my finished manuscript, I'd expect others to end up on the editing floor. I'd be interested to see reader responses in blog comments.

My question is whether this sort of post might be considered pre-publication of work that I intend eventually to submit to an agent and go out to editors & publishers -- and thereby taint the submission. If so, I suspect I should avoid posting this sort of thing. Alternatively, I'm aware of writers like Rafael Lima (about whom I blogged in October -- http://stevemasover.blogspot.com/2010/1 ... novel.html) who has "pre-published" his entire mss. in draft to solicit reader feedback.

What do you think? To post or not to post?

~Steve Masover

[Nathan Bransford]

Hi Steve, here's my general advice on that:

On the all-important matter of how much work to post online -- I think it's fine to post some work. However, I would be very, very, very careful about posting excerpts from a novel you want to publish. If you can control the material and the amount you are posting is limited to a chapter or two and you can pull the work from the Internet at any time, I don't think there's necessarily a problem (but again, there are varying opinions about this).

But be exceedingly, ridiculously, copiously careful when you allow excerpts of your novel to be published in journals and/or elsewhere -- not necessarily because of the risk someone stealing your work (that's extremely rare) but rather because you might be tying up the rights. As always, know what you sign!

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2008/08 ... sites.html

[smasover]

Thanks Nathan, much appreciated...